It's been 10 years since the gang finished high school, and Joey's life has changed for the worse. He has an abusive boyfriend, and no job. Will his life get any better when Seto returns to Domino? SetoJoey yaoi

Joey wasn't sure what attracted him to Shinji first- perhaps it was because the older boy had acted just like his father, abusive and controlling. And Joey was so used to the behaviour shown to him by his father that Shinji's abusive behaviour had seemed natural to him, absolutely normal.

Yugi and the others had been worried about him, and tried to separate them. But Shinji always managed to come back to him, force his way back into Joey's life.

Joey sighed and glanced over to his lover, and wondered how he- strong, rash Joey Wheeler- had managed to become anyone's servant.

"What are you staring at?" Shinji demanded, his voice slightly slurred from the alcohol he had consumed.

"As if you could actually think, Wheeler." Shinji laughed scornfully. "I'll be back tonight. You'd better be ready for me." In a few powerful strides, Shinji left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Although they had known each other for 10 years, 10 long and painful years, they still called each other by their last names.

Joey shuddered.

"You'd better be ready for me..." that meant another whole night of hell for him.

Why had he chosen this life? Joey wondered, and turned despairing honey brown eyes towards the mouldy ceiling of the cheap apartment they shared. He wished desperately that he could see his old friends again, perhaps play a game of duel monsters, just hang out and have fun.

But Shinji had forbidden him to leave the apartment without his permission, except to go to the gym, but that was only at 7:30 every night. His life was a time table- a neverending time table...

Tears cascaded down his cheeks, and he hurried brushed them away with the back of a gloved hand.

He rolled a cigarette between slim fingers, and flicked the lighter a couple of times, before actually lighting it and taking a huge drag of the toxic fumes.

"My life is one huge fuck hole..." he muttered to himself, and stared out the window with bloodshot eyes. His life just seemed to be going from bad to worse. Maybe he should just end his life- everything would be so much easier then. No more Shinji, no more pain... just black oblivion...

Joey shook his head, as if doing so would shake the dark thoughts from his mind. Yugi, Anzu, Honda and Otogi had stopped trying to call and visit him, after seeing how Shinji punished Joey for their persistance. Seto Kaiba... the name still nagged at Joey's mind though he didn't know why. The CEO of Kaiba Corp had left for America 10 years ago, and they hadn't seen a single hair from his head since.

Joey leaned back in his chair, his head suddenly starting to pound. It seemed that even the mention of Seto Kaiba could give him an instant migraine.

He had to get out of his crap apartment- even if it meant disobeying Shinji, who could easily kill him within a second of the older boy wished. He just had to have some freedom, and feel the fresh air against his cheeks.

Pulling a jacket over his too thin frame, Joey made his way outside. He wondered where to go first- Yugi's house, or the park, perhaps. Maybe he could still find his way to Honda's house.

He didn't have to choose, because at that moment a short something banged into him, wrapping small arms around his waist.

"JOEY!!!" It was Yugi, and at that moment, Joey's heart felt as if it was fit to burst. Relief rolled off him in waves, and he hugged his petite friend back.

"Yug'! It's so good to see you again!

Yugi wrinkled his small nose at the cigarette fumes that clung onto Joey's clothing. "Joey? Since when have you been smoking?" he asked, finally letting go of his blond friend.

"A while ago." Joey replied. "Yug', I'm so sorry that I haven't been around lately-

"You have to leave Shinji." Yugi interrupted. His large amethyst eyes were dead serious. "He's ruining you, Joey, and it's so obvious!

"I know." Joey sighed heavily, and took another cigarette from his pocket, and lit it. "I can't leave him Yugi- he'll kill me. I know he will.

Yugi opened his mouth to say something, then his expression changed, and he brightened. "Yami's coming with the others. Do you want to come with us? We're heading over to Ryou's house.

"Sure, I'd love-" he stopped abruptly, and glanced at his watch. It was close to 4pm, and he knew that Shinji would be back by 5:30 at the latest. "I- I can't. Shinji'll be back soon.

Yugi's expression immediately dropped, and he patted Joey awkwardly on the shoulder. "I hope you get away from him soon.

He walked off with a last wave, and soon his blue leather could no longer be seen in the distance.

Joey sighed.

He was alone once more.

Seto wasn't sure how he felt to be back in Domino once again. It had been so long since he had left- 10 whole years.

10 years, and now he was 28 years old, still single and president of Kaiba corp. He wondered how all of his Ôfriends' were. Not that they had been real friends- he hadn't treated them as such, no matter how much they had tried to get to know him.

"Oniisan?" Mokuba looked up at him quizzically. "You haven't said anything since we got here.

"Hn." Seto wasn't sure of what to say. Was he glad to be back? Or was he unhappy?

Seto glanced over at the figures that Mokuba was pointing to and saw that it was indeed his old aquaintances. He was surprised to see that Joey wasn't among them- surely the mutt still hung out with his old friends?

They headed towards the group. Yami was the first to spot them, and he nudged his hikari's shoulder lightly and pointed to Kaiba.

Yugi's eyes lit up, and he waved at Kaiba and Mokuba. Mokuba waved back, but Seto just rolled his eyes at the petite duellist's childish actions.

The old gang hadn't aged a day, it seemed. They were still as immature as ever.

"Kaiba! Mokuba! You're back!" Yugi said happily, and he looked genuinely happy to see Seto back again. "Are you back here for good, or are you just on holiday?

"For good." Seto replied shortly. He didn't feel like talking at the moment, though it would be good to know what was happening. He smirked when he saw that Yugi and Yami's hands were intertwined. "I see you two finally got together.

Yugi blushed, and Yami just shrugged, though his eyes were full of affection for his hikari. "Yeah... I don't see anyone with you, Kaiba- are you still single?

"Hn." Seto had never met anyone who interested him long enough. Sure, they were interesting in the beginning, but in a few days they became boring and useless to him. No one had managed to grab his interest. Uncomfortable with discussing his love life -or rather, lack of love life- and looked around. "I don't see the mutt with you. He run off, has he?

Everyone's expression darkened. Honda looked away, a pained expression on his face, and started to walk off. The fact that Joey had practically disappeared, allowing himself to be beaten by a single person, still pained him.

Mokuba frowned. The 22 year old peered at Yugi anxiously. "Is he alright?

"Not really..." Yami said uncomfortably. "He's just not quite... well...

Seto felt fear rise in him, though he'd rather bite his own tongue off than admit it aloud. What had happened to the mutt? He hated to admit it, but he had missed the blond.

Not a lot, of course, Seto thought hastily, I just miss having someone to argue with. And someone stupid enough to actually dare to argue with me.

"Well- we have to go." Otogi said. "Ryou's waiting for us, and Bakura will be pissed with us if we're late.

Yami hesitated, an unreadable expression on his face, before he scribbed Joey's new address on a piece of paper and handed it to the younger Kaiba.

"Here. But be careful." Yami quickly rejoined his other companions, who had carried on walking.

Mokuba yelled out a thanks then caught up with his brother.

"What did you want with the pharaoh?" Seto asked suspiciously, his ice blue eyes watching as Mokuba pocketed something.

"Nothing." Mokuba gave an impish grin, his violet eyes alight with delight.

Seto frowned, but said no more, and checked his watch. "I need to get going. I have a meeting, if you want to look around town.

Mokuba nodded. "Sure thing, oniisan! I'll see you tonight!" he ran off quickly, and soon Seto could no longer see him. He wondered what his little brother was hiding from him, but decided that Mokuba would tell him if it was important.

Now to get to that board meeting... he groaned. Another two hours of absolute boredom.

Mokuba ran down the alley, wondering where on earth Joey's apartment could be. He wrinkled his nose at the shoddy apartments, and the battered cars and ragged belongings that were outside them.

How can people manage to live in these conditions? Mokuba wondered, conveniently forgetting that not everyone was as rich as he was.

He finally found the block of apartments that he was looking for, and checked the piece of paper that Yami had given him.

Number 35, it read. He soon reached the apartment and rapped on the door. To his surprise, it wasn't Joey that answered the door, but a powerfully built, black haired man with cold, calculating hazel eyes. He had a nasty expression on his face, and Mokuba instantly knew that this was not a person he wanted to know.

Shinji took in the man's expensive clothing and wondered why a rich brat was hanging out in this part of town.

"What do you want, kid?" he sneered at Mokuba, who glared back at him indignantly.

Who was that man calling Ôkid'? He was 22 years old!! "I'm looking for Joey Wheeler. Have you seen him?

Hazel eyes narrowed, and Shinji's lips curled into a vicious snarl. His hand shot out and grabbed Mokuba by the collar, lifting the slender boy up into the air.

Mokuba gasped, and gave a cry of distress as he watched the ground suddenly disappear from under his feet.

Shinji laughed cruelly, and dangled Mokuba over the side of the railing, enjoying hearing the pleas of help that were emitted from the violet eyed man.

"You never come back here again- hear me? Wheeler doesn't want-

"What the fuck are you doing, Hagashi?

Mouba almost wept in relief. He knew that voice- it was Joey!

Joey stormed over to his hated lover, and grabbed Mokuba, allowing the younger man to hold onto him.

"Who do you think you are, talking back to me like that?" Shinji backhanded his boyfriend roughly. "Don't you dare raise your voice to me!

Joey bit his lip, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth. "I'll do whatever I like, you fuck wit." he retorted sharply. "What do you think you were doing, hurting Mokuba like that?

"I told you not to bring your little friends back to my house!

"Some house." Joey said distastefully. "And don't you mean our apartment? Seeing as we did buy it together?

That earned him another slap on the face. Joey hid a wince, and just held Mokuba closer. Whatever happened, he wouldn't let the younger Kaiba get hurt. Seto would kill him if that happened.

Wait... if Mokuba was back, that meant Seto was back as well! Joey grinned inwardly. He wasn't quite sure why, but he wanted to see the brunette again, even if that meant that he would just be insulted and ridiculed.

Tears ran down Mokuba's face, and he whimpered slightly. It wasn't often that he was scared, but the black haired man scared him badly. He had mercilessly held him over the edge of a three storey drop, without even thinking twice.

"I'm taking Mokuba back to his house." Joey snapped. He needed another cigarette, and quick. He could feel anxiety and anger building within him, and the only way to get rid of that was a cigarette. Where was his lighter??

Joey cursed, fumbling around in his pocket for his lighter, and soon a cigarette was jammed between his lips, smoke billowing above his head.

He pulled Mokuba with him to his motorcycle which had been a present from Shizuka, the only person that Shinji allowed to visit him, and climbed on, making sure that the younger man was safely seated behind him.

Mokuba nodded mutely, unable to believe what had happened to Joey in the amount of time he and Seto had been gone.

The blond's clothes were ragged and well worn- there were holes all over his shirt and pants, which were frayed at the edges, and held around his waist with a piece of string instead of a belt. He had lost a lot of weight, and his face was thin and sunken. His honey brown eyes were bloodshot and wary, though they still contained a spark of hope. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to convince Mokuba that underneath it all, it was the same old Joey Wheeler.

"Where are you staying?" Joey asked, taking his eyes off the road for a second.

"Same place." Mokuba replied, shouting in order to be heard over the wind.

"Cool." Joey fell silent, and soon they had reached the Kaiba mansion, which was still as elegant as ever, despite having not been lived in for 10 years.

Joey jumped off the motorcycle and Mokuba ran up to the front door. He paused before he knocked and turned to the blond, who looked uneasily at the large mansion, and had turned back to his motorcycle.

"Joey? Where are you going?

Joey looked back at him, surprised. "Back to the apartment." he said. "You're okay here, right?

"But I haven't even thanked you yet!" Mokuba cried. "Please come in Joey! Seto will be glad to see you!

Sure... Joey thought sarcastically. As if I-have-a-stick-up-my-arse Kaiba really wants to see me. Although it would be good to see him again...

Mokuba saw the hesitation on Joey's face and seized the situation. He grabbed Joey by the arm so that the blond couldn't escape, and pounded on the door.

"Seto! SETO!" he called out as they entered the house, with Joey staring after the maid who had opened the door for them.

Wow... I wonder what it feels like to have a maid... Joey thought enviously.

"Oh yeah- I forgot that he's at a board meeting. But he should be back soon." Mokuba said happily. "Thanks Joey, for helping me. I don't know what that guy would've done if you hadn't came.

"It's no problem." Joey grunted, feeling extremely out of place amongst the richness around him. "I should really be going.

"But Seto will be back real soon!

"I really have to get back." Joey forced the words to exit his mouth. He didn't want to go back- all he wanted to do was stay at the Kaiba mansion and forget for a while that he had a crap life and an abusive boyfriend.

But he couldn't. Shinji was already pissed at him, and if he stayed any longer, he knew that he would his punishment would be far worse than than if he just returned back to the apartment now.

"But-" Mokuba was cut off by the slamming of the front door.

Joey's mouth went dry as he saw that familiar crop of brown hair, and the same white trench coat. It was Seto Kaiba.

The CEO didn't notice him, and entered the room, putting all of his gear away, wrinkling his nose at the toxic fumes that filled the room.

"Mokuba, have you been smoking? You know it's forbidden to smoke." he fixed his stern gaze on his little brother, still not noticing Joey who stood near the edge of the room.

He never notices me. He never has, and never will, Joey thought bitterly.

What on earth happened to Wheeler? He looks as if someone dragged him backwards through a bush! Seto thought, shocked.

"Mutt?" he asked, obviously surprised. "What are you doing here?

Joey let out a weary sigh. "Kaiba." he muttered in acknowledgement. "Actually I'm just leaving." he waved to Mokuba. "I wouldn't come around again, Mokuba, And be careful.

"Be careful?" Seto demanded. "What do you mean, be careful?" he turned to his little brother. "Where exactly did you find the mutt anyway?

Joey glared at him. "I'm not a dog, and I'm still here, Kaiba.

"Unfortunately for us." Seto sneered.

Joey gave a low growl, and started to walk off. "I've had enough of this. See you later." he had almost reached the door, when Seto spoke up.

"Why rush off, mutt? You haven't even greeted your master properly yet." he smirked at the angry expression on the blond's face.

"You're not my master." Joey retorted, thinking Shinji is now.

He glanced at his watch, and gave a groan. He had wasted enough time swapping insults with Kaiba. Shinji would be more than pissed with him when he got back.

Kaiba's smirk grew larger at Joey's retort. "Oh really? Mutt?

"You're not going back to that man, are you Joey?" Mokuba asked anxiously.

Joey glanced at the black haired man, and just shrugged, pulling another cigarette from his pocket and lighting it.

Seto glared at the cigarette, and strode over to the blond and snatched it out of his mouth. "There is no smoking in this house." he snapped, dropping the cigarette into the rubbish bin after snuffing it out. "And who exactly is this man that you're talking about?

"You called him Hagashi." Mokuba supplied. "Who is he?

"I don't have time for this- I've got to go." Joey muttered. He ignored the fact that he and Kaiba were standing a few scant millimetres apart.

"You seem to be in such a rush." Seto smirked. "So why don't I give you a ride back?

Seto frowned deeply, wondering whether Joey had finally cracked. What was the mutt blabbering on about? He gently prised Joey's fingers from his sleeve, but held them tightly within his own grasp, ignoring the heat that radiated through his body from the feel of the blond's fingers against his own.

"No, I think you're the one that's mad. Now let's go." he reluctantly let go of Joey's hand, letting it fall back to the blond's side.

"No!" Joey looked as if he was about to launch into another tirade, but the glare that Seto sent him made him instantly shut his mouth.

Well, it's not like Kaiba needs protecting. I'm sure he can hold his own against Shinji anyway, Joey thought with a defeated sigh and followed Seto into the CEO's personal car, which was a four wheel drive.

"Don't you dare harm the car in any sort of way, Wheeler. Or you'll be paying for the damage." Seto warned.

Joey nodded mutely, and they drove for a while in silence.

"What's your adress, mutt?" Seto finally broke the silence, taking his eyes off the road for a brief second to rest on the blond next to him. He saw the nervous look in Joey's eyes and wondered who this ÔHagashi' man was. Hesitantly, he reached out and gently laid his own slender hand on top of Joey's hand.

"Mutt? Are you alright?" he asked gruffly. He felt so... protective of the blond- he wasn't used to these feelings, and didn't particularly want them.

"What?" Joey snapped out of his trance like state.

"Where do you live?" Seto asked.

"Oh, just down that alley.

"You live close." Seto remarked, not bothering to mention that the area that Joey lived in was generally referred to as Ôthe slums'. And for good reason- the houses and people in that area were a ragged bunch, and weren't very pretty (a/n: that was the houses, not the people).

Seto pulled up outside the block of apartments that Joey lived in, and stared up wordlessly at the cheap housing.

This is where Joey- I mean, the mutt lives? Seto wondered.

Joey climbed out of the car and walked over to the driver's side, and leaned over so that he could talk to Seto who rolled his window down.

"Thanks Kaiba- for the drive back." he grinned easily, trying not to think of the pain that awaited him.

"Hn." Seto grunted. "It's alright." he looked up at the apartments, and said "If you want to come over at any time..." he trailed off at the shocked look on Joey's face.

Holy shit. Did Kaiba just say that I was welcome in his house? Joey thought, blinking in amazement.

Seto scowled. "What are you staring at?

"You. For a second there Kaiba, you sounded human." Joey grinned, and Seto instantly forgot all the arguments he had had with Joey over pointless things in the past, and saw only how beautiful the blond looked, despite his raggedness and thinness.

He reached out and touched the side of Joey's face, hesitantly, so different to his usual brisk and cold manner.

Joey tensed under his touch, and Seto was about to pull away when he saw the fire burning in the previously weary honey brown eyes.

There was a sudden, loud yell and before Seto knew what was happening Joey was pulled away, and thrown against the wall.

Shinji stood there, seething with anger and glaring at Seto with a deep loathing. "Get the fuck away from Wheeler, you asshole!" he shouted, red faced with anger.

Seto glared back at him, surprising Shinji. Most of his victims whimpered and cowered off, their tail tucked between their legs.

But this man just glared back at him, authority rolling off him in waves.

"Do you have a problem with me being here?" he asked coolly, his ice blue eyes meeting Shinji's hazel ones.

Joey hesitated, looking between Seto and Shinji, confused. What had Kaiba been doing before, and why had he seemed so tender and caring?

"Did you fucking hear me, Wheeler?" Shinji roared. He took a step towards Joey, but Seto threw open his car door, catching Shinji straight in the stomach, successfully winding the dark haired boy.

Shinji collapsed onto the ground, clutching his chest and stomach, unable to do anything except glare at Seto disbelievingly.

Seto beckoned urgently to Joey who rushed over to him, and was surprised when the brunette grabbed him, pulling him into the car and onto his lap.

"Don't fidget." he commanded, in his usual cold tone, and closed his car door again, and wound up the window, ignoring Shinji who had got to his feet and was lumbering over to their car.

Seto started up the four wheel drive and reversed wildly out of the alley, and onto the main road, ignoring the squawking of horns as he nearly rammed into another car.

Joey clung onto him, trying to ignore the fact that he was sitting on his rival's lap in a fast moving car. If the police pulled them up... he hesitantly rested his head in the crook between Seto's neck and shoulder, smiling inwardly when he felt Seto shiver.

"He's going to be pissed off even more when I get back, y'know." Joey murmured into Seto's neck. He wondered vaguely why Kaiba smelt like cinnamon, when he had expected him to smell bitter. If ice smelt, Joey expected Kaiba to smell like that. He hadn't expected Seto to smell so... nice...

"You're not going to go back." Seto's mind had been thrown into turmoil as soon as he had pulled Joey onto his lap. When the blond had placed his head on his shoulder, Seto had wondered if he had somehow died and gone to heaven. His mind had hardly registered Joey's question- it was too focused on their close proximity, and the effect it was having on his senses.

He pulled into the Kaiba mansion's long driveway, one hand on the steering wheel, the other hand holding Joey against him.

"Sorry." Joey murmured. He went back into his former position, leaning against Kaiba again. "But what do you mean, I'm not going to go back?? You can't expect me to just leave my only home!

"How about your father? Surely he'll have you back." Seto suggested reasonably. He absently fiddled with several strands of blond hair. It was just as soft as he had always imagined, if not softer.

Joey tensed, imagining his alcoholic father in one of his drunken fits of anger. "No." he said firmly. "I'll never return to that asshole, never.

Seto was surprised by the vehemence in Joey's quietly spoken sentence. He guessed that there wasn't much love lost between Joey and his father.

"Then you'll stay with me." Seto said firmly. "You'll have one of the spare guestrooms. We'll find you a job as soon as possible.

"Who do you think you are, suddenly appearing after 10 years and thinking you can go back and control everything?" Joey demanded.

Seto glared at him angrily, and suddenly he was reminded of when he was a teenager, and having one of his frequent arguments with Wheeler.

He smirked. "Well look how far you've fallen without your master here." he said mockingly, ice blue eyes fired up with delight. It had been so long since he had had a proper argument. In America, no one had dared to argue with him, and if they did, it didn't contain the same fire of his and Joey's arguments. The heat and the passion were completely gone, leaving just bitter words.

Seto hit the brakes, and they came to a halt outside the mansion. "We'll continue this discussion inside." he opened the car door and shoved Joey out, immediately missing the warmth that the blond had provided.

Joey landed on the gravel, earning himself a scraped knee. He glared at Seto whose smirk simply grew wider.

Joey climbed to his feet, brushing the dirt off his already dirty clothes. He followed Seto into the mansion, ignoring Mokuba's puzzled glance. He wasn't sure what was going to happen, but surely Seto couldn't send him back to Shinji?

"Sit down.

Joey looked around and realised that they were presumably in Seto's bedroom. He grinned, amused. There was a large poster of blue eyes, white dragon on the wall, and several figurines of the same dragon around the room.

"Where? There's nowhere to sit?

In a single push, Seto had managed to get Joey to half sit, half sprawl on his bed. "There.

Silence settled across the room, while Joey fiddled with one of Seto's pillows, not able to meet the other man's blue eyes. He wasn't sure what to say- they were both grown men now, almost 30, yet he felt as if he ad been sucked back in time, and was a teenager again, when all he did was fight with Kaiba and duel.

"Look Kaiba, we've all changed while you were away." Joey said, breaking the silence. He lifted his head and stared straight at Seto, who tried his hardest not to look surprised. "I'm grateful for your help, I really am. But this is my life, and I won't have anyone else control it.

"No? Then explain Hagashi." Seto challenged, coming to sit down next to him. He snatched the pillow from Joey's hands before the blond could wreck it any further.

"I- I-" Joey broke off. He looked away, disheartened. "I guess... I guess I don't have much control over my life..." he sighed heavily.

Seto paused, then reached out and laid his hand on top of Joey's. It was so out of character for him that all Joey could do was stare disbelievingly at his companion.

"K- Kaiba?

"That is my name.

"But- you never-" he gave up and simply sat there, watching Seto closely.

"Who is that man anyway?

"Hagashi." he shuddered. "Hagashi Shinji." his hand gripped Seto's long, slender fingers unconsciously. "H- he... I hate him!" Joey yelled suddenly, and several crystalline tears dripped down his face. "God, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him..." he turned his tear streaked face to Seto, and suddenly launched himself at the other man.

To his surprise, Seto didn't push him away or mock him for his weakness. Instead, he simply wrapped his arms around the blond, resting his head on top of Joey's hair, and stroking his back comfortingly.

Soon Joey's breathing relaxed, and his body lost its tenseness. Seto realised that the blond had fallen asleep, and shifted so that Joey's body was pressed against his own. He pulled the blankets around them and was soon fast asleep.